§ Mr. D. G. SOMERVILLEasked the Lord Privy Seal the numbers of applications put forward, either to the Unemployment Grants Committee or to the Ministry of Transport, for assistance to schemes for the relief of unemployment which have not been granted; and the aggregate number of men who would have been employed bad these applications been acceded to?
Mr. THOMASSince 1st June, 1929, 256 formal applications for grant have been refused by the Unemployment Grants Committee. It is not possible to estimate the aggregate number of men who would have been employed had these applications been acceded to. In a substantial majority of the cases the reason for rejection was that the works were not sufficiently accelerated in point of time and that, in any case, they would be put in hand in the near future in the ordinary course. As regards applications to the Ministry of Transport on road schemes, it would be impracticable to collect the information askini for without a disproportionate expenditure of time and labour.